Student problem 7: All pharmacy degrees are not valid

I am currently pursing MS from NIPER, Chandigarh. Is it true that even after the course I cannot register myself as a pharmacist?

Should NIPER seek PCI approval before offering such courses? Where do we stand? Can I take a teaching job in a pharmacy college after this course?

- Careers360 reader Saravanan

Core players and where they stand

Pharmacy Council

The Council’s stand is clear. It only approves B.Pharm, D.Pharma and Pharma.D programmes. No other programme is valid.

Universities

Individual universities hide behind the UGC Act which empowers them to award any academic degree and hence argue that all their degrees are valid.

Status quo This is a classic case of a profession not keeping up with academia. The profession is not interested in investing time and energy in evaluating whether the alternative or new programmes that are on offer in a host of institutions provide the students with competencies essential to practice the profession or teach the same.

The case is not limited to NIPER. Many deemed universities too offer Master’s programme, which are not approved by PCI. But despite their courses having tremendous market value, despite the students finding plum positions in various pharma companies the profession fails to take note and take steps to approve them as professional courses.

For no fault of the student, he or she is now saddled with a degree from a premier academic institutions, but cannot aspire to become an academic or a professional? What can be more cruel?

Click the image (on the right) to view PCI website which announces that MS programmes are unapproved

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